OUTDATED RESOURCE

On July 29, 2019, the attorney general issued a decision, Matter of L-E-A-II, 27 I&N Dec. 581 (A.G. 2019), which held that the family is not inherently socially distinct and overruled the finding in L-E-A- I, 27 I&N Dec. 40 (BIA 2017) that Mr. L-E-A-’s father’s immediate family could be a particular social group. CLINIC issued this practice pointer shortly after Matter of L-E-A-II, providing suggestions for practitioners on how to frame asylum claims involving family-based particular social groups in light of the attorney general’s decision. On June 16, 2021, Attorney General Garland issued a decision, Matter of L-E-A- III, 28 I&N Dec. 304 (AG 2021), vacating Matter of L-E-A-II.

CLINIC is leaving this practice pointer on our website because it provides a good overview of federal court precedent involving family-based claims, but practitioners should be aware that Matter of L-E-A-II is no longer in effect and the practice pointer has not been updated to reflect Matter of L-E-A-III.